Yue Deming
Strategy and Management, No.3, 2002
First, the origin and current situation of the "South China Sea issue"
The so-called "South China Sea issue" refers to the differences and disputes among countries around the South China Sea on the ownership of the South Island Reef and the division of sea areas. [1] Before 1970s, there was basically no "South China Sea issue" except that some countries (such as South Vietnam and the Philippines) put forward illegal sovereignty claims over Xisha and Nansha. China's sovereignty over South China Sea Islands (dongsha islands, Xisha Islands, zhongsha islands and Nansha Islands, etc.). ) has been recognized by the international community, including countries around the South China Sea. For example, before 1974, Vietnam, which invaded Nansha Island reef the most, recognized that the South China Sea Islands belonged to China from official statements, maps and textbooks. [2] The prominence of the South China Sea issue began in the 1970s and was related to two main factors. Firstly, abundant oil and natural gas resources have been discovered in the South China Sea since the 1960s. 2. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 was signed, and 1994+065438+ 10 entered into force. The importance of oil and natural gas to contemporary economic development is self-evident. At present, there is no alternative energy, and oil and gas resources undoubtedly play a role in maintaining the lifeline of the national economy. During the Fourth Middle East War from 65438 to 0973, the oil embargo of Arab countries hit the western economy, which proved the status of oil and gas resources from the opposite side. The discovery of oil and gas fields in the South China Sea is tantamount to a spring thunder for neighboring countries. The existing south island reefs and shoals have become the coveted targets of neighboring countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia. Occupy an island reef, you can control a large sea area, which means that barrels of oil will be your own. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea signed in 1982 was taken out of context by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and other countries according to their own wishes to justify their occupation of the south island reef of China. However, from a strict legal point of view, according to the principles of estoppel, non-retroactivity of laws and historical ownership, the encroachment of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and other countries is untenable in international law, and their so-called "legal basis" also violates the basic principles of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the spirit of relevant provisions. [3]
The neighboring countries occupied the south island reef of China from 1969: to 1998, with 29 occupied by Vietnamese, 1 1 occupied by Malaysian and 8 occupied by Philippine. [4] Brunei claims sovereignty over Nantong Reef. In addition, these countries divide the South China Sea of China into its territorial sea, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in the form of domestic legislation or government statements. According to its legislation or statement, the relevant countries will invade China waters as follows: Vietnam, 1 10,000 square kilometers or more; Philippines, 465438+100000 square kilometers; Malaysia, more than 270,000 square kilometers; Indonesia, over 50,000 square kilometers; Brunei, 3000 square kilometers. The five countries also used international capital to drill more than 1000 oil and gas wells in the South China Sea; In 1999 alone, the five countries exploited 40.43 million tons of oil and 3 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas in Nansha sea area. [5] In addition, China fishermen and fishing boats operating in the South China Sea were detained by Viet Nam, the Philippines and Malaysia. The countries concerned have also created other troubles in order to grab more resources for themselves.
It should be pointed out that neighboring countries have invaded China's islands, reefs and sea areas, mainly Nansha Islands and its sea areas. Except Huangyan Island, Dongsha, Zhongsha and Xisha waters are basically uncontroversial; Although the Vietnamese government once claimed sovereignty over the Xisha Islands, the Xisha Islands issue has not evolved into a real problem because China has already delineated the territorial sea baseline of the Xisha Islands in its domestic legislation and actually controlled it. Therefore, the South China Sea issue is currently mainly manifested in the Nansha issue.
Second, before 1970s, the new China government declared its sovereignty over the South China Sea Islands.
After the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), due to the lack of naval power, the People's Liberation Army failed to station troops on all islands in the South China Sea for effective control. Before 1970s, the navy was only stationed in Xuande Islands of Xisha Islands. However, the fishing activities of Chinese fishermen include Xisha, Nansha and other South China Sea islands. The China government has never given up its sovereignty statement over the South China Sea. As early as 195 1 August 15, Foreign Minister Zhou Enlai clearly pointed out in his statement on the draft peace treaty between the United States, Britain and France and the meeting in San Francisco: "The Xisha Islands and Nanwei Island, like the entire Nansha Islands, dongsha islands and zhongsha islands, belong to China ... After Japan surrendered, they were all accepted by the China government at that time." [6] 1956 On May 29th, in response to Philippine Foreign Minister Garcia's claim that the Nansha Islands "should" belong to the Philippines, the China government solemnly declared that "the people of China * * and People's Republic of China (PRC) have indisputable legal sovereignty over these islands" and "no country is allowed to violate them in any excuse or way". [7] Since then, the China government has reiterated in the territorial sea statement of1September 4, 958 and the statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China on February 27, 959 that dongsha islands, Xisha Islands, zhongsha islands and Nansha Islands "belong to China" and "are the territory of China". [8]
Of course, just declaring sovereignty is not enough. As naval forces failed to enter the islands, objectively, countries around the South China Sea later had the opportunity to occupy the islands and reefs. However, the declaration of sovereignty is indispensable, which makes China's sovereignty over the South China Sea Islands have a sustained and sufficient legal basis in international law.
Thirdly, China's South China Sea policy and its evolution since 1970s.
Since the 1970s, the South China Sea issue has become prominent. Faced with the occupation of islands and reefs, the division of sea areas, the detention of fishermen and the plundering of resources, the China government has accordingly implemented a series of measures to safeguard China's sovereignty in the South China Sea and strive for China's national interests to the maximum extent, and the "South China Sea Policy" came into being. The so-called "South China Sea Policy" refers to the specific principles, policies and measures formulated and put into practice by the China government under the guidance of the overall interests of its foreign strategy. "South China Sea Policy" is an integral part of China's foreign policy, which serves the overall foreign policy.
Since 1970s, great changes have taken place at home and abroad, and the South China Sea policy of the China administration is also changing. What remains unchanged is the goal of safeguarding national interests. So, how has China's South China Sea policy evolved in the past 30 years? The author thinks that China's South China Sea policy since 1970s can be roughly divided into two periods: the period of sovereignty declaration and limited self-defense in 1970s and 1980s, and the period of "shelving disputes, friendly consultation and promoting cooperation" since 1990s.
20th century1.70s and 80s: declaration of sovereignty and limited self-defense.
During this period, great changes have taken place in China's internal affairs and major adjustments have been made in its foreign strategy. Nevertheless, the China administration's South China Sea policy has not changed significantly, which is closely related to the background of the Cold War. When the Cold War entered the 1970s and 1980s, the US-Soviet hegemony was in a stalemate. The Soviet Union supported Vietnam's pursuit of regional hegemony to expand its sphere of influence in Indian zhina. Relying on the support of the Soviet Union, Vietnam invaded and expanded: not only invaded Cambodia, but also excluded China from anti-China, worsened Vietnam-China relations and wantonly occupied the Nansha Island reef in China. During this period, the Nansha Island Reef in China was most seriously occupied by Vietnam. Therefore, China's South China Sea policy during this period was mainly aimed at Viet Nam. However, China still took a very restrained attitude, mainly declaring sovereignty, and only fought back twice in self-defense (the battle of Yongle Islands in Xisha and the "314" war). By taking these measures, the Government of China has tried its best to avoid the escalation of disputes, and has always been willing to settle disputes peacefully through negotiations.
During this period, the China government only made a declaration of sovereignty in response to the invasion of the South Island Reef in China and the drilling of oil in the South China Sea in China by the Philippines and other countries.
It is worth noting that during this period, Deng Xiaoping put forward the idea of "shelving sovereignty issues and jointly developing" in 1984, but it did not rise to the policy level.
1) Measures against Vietnam
In the mid-1970s, neighboring countries in the South China Sea invaded China's South China Sea Islands, especially the South Vietnamese authorities. The government of China keeps issuing sovereignty statements, claiming indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea Islands. At the same time, within the limits of our ability, we will take practical actions to recover some occupied islands and reefs, demonstrating our determination to safeguard sovereignty. The Xisha Defence War is such an action.
The Yongle Islands in Xisha were occupied by the South Vietnamese authorities; The South Vietnamese Navy also constantly provokes China's naval patrol fleet in an attempt to occupy more islands and reefs. 1974 65438+1October19 The China navy fought back in self-defense and recovered the occupied Xisha island reef. The defence of Xisha only lasted for two days, and China's army fought back in limited self-defense, but it was of great significance, which marked "China's full restoration of sovereignty over Xisha" [9] and prevented Xisha from being occupied like Nansha.
After the Xisha Defence War, the situation in the South China Sea did not calm down, and the South Vietnamese authorities began to occupy the Nansha Island reef in China. After Vietnam's reunification, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam not only "took over" the six islands and reefs occupied by South Vietnam in Nansha, China and refused to return them, but also intensified its claim to sovereignty over the entire Nansha Islands and Xisha Islands, and continued to occupy the islands and reefs of Nansha Islands (this occupation still occurred in the 1990s). It also claims that the Beibu Gulf has been carved up and wants to occupy two-thirds of the Beibu Gulf. Due to Viet Nam's hostile policy towards China, the negotiations on the border territorial dispute between the two countries have not achieved any results. However, the China government has exercised a high degree of restraint in the South China Sea dispute and has not taken any military action for a long time. Even when the Vietnamese army counterattacked China in self-defense from February 1979 to March 16, the navy did not go to Nansha to launch a military struggle. What the China government has done is to declare its sovereignty:1978 65438+February 29th 65438+September 26th 0979 65438+July 28th 09801982 65438+1October 28th 65438. On February 2nd, 65438, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and its spokesmen repeatedly stated that China has sovereignty over the South China Sea islands, including Nansha Islands and Xisha Islands, and condemned Viet Nam's continued occupation of China Island Reef and signed an agreement with the Soviet Union to exploit and plunder China's oil and gas resources. [10] In response to the white paper Vietnam's sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Changsha Islands, which was prepared by the Vietnamese government in September 1979, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China published the document "China's sovereignty over Xisha Islands and Nansha Islands is indisputable" in June 1980, which refuted the lies fabricated by the Vietnamese government with a large number of conclusive historical facts.
According to the resolution of 14 meeting of UNESCO IOC in 1987, China established a sea level observatory at Yongshu Reef in Nansha in early 1988, and stationed it at five reefs, including Chigua Reef. On February 20th, Vietnam publicly accused China. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China issued a statement on February 22nd, pointing out that China's activities are purely within the scope of sovereignty and warning not to obstruct them. On March 14, when Chinese personnel were working on Chigua Reef, Vietnamese personnel boarded the reef at the same time and attacked Chinese personnel and Chinese ships. China was forced to fight back, and there was a brief conflict between the two sides. It's for the March 14 conflict. On the same day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China sent a note to the Vietnamese Embassy in China, protesting strongly against the Vietnamese attack on China ships.
In the "314" conflict, China fought back with extremely limited self-defense, and did not recover any islands and reefs occupied by Vietnam, but only maintained its existing control over several islands and reefs. So until now, except Taiping Island, which is controlled by Taiwan Province Province, all the other islands in Nansha have been occupied by other countries, and the PLA Navy only occupies seven reefs. [1 1] Moreover, after the "314" self-defense counterattack, China did not take any self-defense armed action in the South China Sea dispute; China practiced his later policy of "shelving disputes" with practical actions. The "314" self-defense counterattack became the second and last self-defense armed action taken by China in the South China Sea dispute so far. In fact, shortly after the "314" conflict, the China government put forward the idea that "the Nansha issue should be shelved for the time being and discussed and solved later" in the Memorandum on Xisha Islands and Nansha Islands published in May 1988. [12] However, after the March14 conflict, Vietnam continued to invade China Island Reef on the grounds of rescue work, and publicly invaded several islands and reefs in 1989, so the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had to make several speeches again, reaffirming China's sovereignty over the Xisha and Nansha Islands, condemning Vietnam's aggression and demanding that Vietnam withdraw from the islands and reefs it occupied. Therefore, the ideas in the memorandum have not been answered at all, but it shows signs that the China administration has adjusted its South China Sea policy.
In fact, as early as198410/0, when talking about the Nansha Islands at the third plenary session of the Central Advisory Committee, Deng Xiaoping said: "One way is to shelve the sovereignty issue and jointly develop it, which can eliminate the problems accumulated for many years." [13] This is one of the original expressions that people often say later, "shelving disputes, * * and development" (to be exact, it should be "shelving sovereignty, * * and development"). In the1980s, due to the abnormal relationship between China and Viet Nam, the main parties to the South China Sea dispute, this idea could not be put into practice, so the China government did not take it as a policy.
2) Initiatives for the Philippines and other relevant countries.
In 1970s and 1980s, the Philippines was a country that invaded the south island reef of China. However, the contradiction and confrontation between the Philippines during this period was not prominent in the South China Sea dispute. A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the China only made a limited declaration of sovereignty over the Philippines, stressing that "the sovereignty of Nansha Islands and its adjacent waters belongs to China": there is no direct conflict between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea. This is different from the 1990s. As for Malaysia, which has also invaded the Nansha Island reef, the China government has taken even fewer separate measures.
3) Internal affairs: In order to highlight the sovereignty rights over Nansha Islands, China established Hainan Administrative Region in 1984, and Hainan Province in 1988, which included Xisha Islands, Nansha Islands, zhongsha islands Island Reef and its adjacent waters.
4) Looking back on China's South China Sea policy in 1970s and 1980s, we can find its characteristics as follows:
(1) is in a dominant position in the struggle against Vietnam, which is determined by the objective situation of bilateral relations and the South China Sea issue-most of Vietnam's provocations against China;
(2) Due to the desire for peaceful settlement and the limitation of objective forces, the declaration of sovereignty has become the main content of the policy:
(3) if necessary, carry out limited self-defense counterattack to show the existence of sovereignty and the strength and determination to safeguard sovereignty;
(4) Due to the background of the Cold War and the role of the triangle between China, the United States and the Soviet Union, foreign powers such as the United States and Japan have not intervened in the South China Sea dispute, and the South China Sea issue has not shown an international trend, so the consideration of external factors is in a very secondary position in China's South China Sea policy.
As for how to evaluate China's South China Sea policy in this period, the author thinks that since this period was the most serious period when Nansha Island reef and sea area were occupied and divided by neighboring countries, repeated sovereignty declaration and limited self-defense counterattack became the necessary and reasonable policy choice of China government. Although these measures have not fundamentally reversed China's unfavorable position-a large number of islands and reefs are still occupied, China has at least maintained control over some sand reefs in Nansha Islands and the entire Xisha Islands; More importantly, China has always taken the initiative in jurisprudence, which means to show the outside world that China has always had the desire to settle disputes peacefully. This also leaves room for future policy adjustment. It is worth mentioning that during this period, the idea of "shelving disputes and jointly developing" was put forward, and there were signs of policy.
2. Since 1990s: "shelving disputes, friendly consultations, bilateral negotiations and promoting cooperation"
1) Since 1990s, the new features of the South China Sea issue and the adjustment and measures of China's South China Sea policy.
Since the 1990s, with the end of the Cold War, the South China Sea issue has also taken on new features. In the dispute between China and relevant countries, it is manifested as:
(1) The contradiction between China and Vietnam has declined, while the contradiction between China and the Philippines has increased.
After the Cold War, Vietnam changed its foreign policy, abandoned its hostile policy towards China and began to improve its relations with China. 199 1 year1month, Sino-Vietnamese relations normalized. Later, Vietnam invaded two islands and reefs in Nansha, China. However, due to the sound development of bilateral relations, there has been no major conflict between China and Vietnam on the South China Sea issue. In addition, the two countries have established negotiation mechanisms on border and territorial disputes (the joint working group on land boundary, the joint working group on Beibu Gulf demarcation and the China-Vietnam maritime expert group have been established successively) and made significant progress: 1999 12.30, the two countries signed the Sino-Vietnam Land Boundary Treaty and the China-Vietnam Beibu Gulf Demarcation Agreement on February 25, 2000. This provides an opportunity for China and Vietnam to negotiate and solve the South China Sea issue. During this period, China and Vietnam also had frictions in the South China Sea, such as the "Wananbei -2 1" oil contract area, which always ended with China's tolerance and restraint.
During the same period, the Philippines' provocations against China increased, including the Meiji Reef incident, Huangyan Island incident, and the Philippines' organization of journalists to interview Nansha Island reef. The Philippines has also repeatedly detained China fishing boats and fishermen. The Philippines has become another focus of China's South China Sea policy after Vietnam.
(2) Neighboring countries around the South China Sea began to hold consultations on the South China Sea dispute within ASEAN.
1In July 1992, the 25th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting adopted the ASEAN Declaration on the South China Sea. 1In July 1995, Vietnam became a member of ASEAN, which promoted ASEAN's internal consultations on the South China Sea dispute. 1999165438+10. In October, after many consultations, ASEAN members finally reached an agreement on the code of conduct for "waters with sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea", that is, freezing the status quo. [ 14]
(3) The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea came into effect, and the dispute extended from the island reef to the sea area.
1994 1 1 In June, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea came into effect, and neighboring countries took it out of context according to their own needs, thus highlighting the dispute over the division of exclusive economic zones and continental shelves. For example, there is no dispute that the Philippines claims sovereignty over Huangyan Island in China.
(4) The big countries outside the region began to intervene in the South China Sea issue.
After the end of the Cold War, the United States, Japan, India and other big countries outside the South China Sea began to infiltrate the South China Sea for their own interests. Although American troops withdrew from the Philippines in 1992, the Visiting Forces Agreement signed by the United States and the Philippines in 1999 stipulated that the United States had the responsibility to defend the Philippines from attack. The US military also established a naval base in Singapore and returned to Southeast Asia in March 20001. 1997, the new "Japan-US Defense Cooperation Guidelines" actually included the South China Sea in the scope of US-Japan intervention. India also claims that the "South China Sea" is India's interest. The most direct manifestation of foreign forces' infiltration into the South China Sea is that they hold joint military exercises with ASEAN countries around the South China Sea. From June 6, 2000 to October 6, 2000/KLOC-0, at least nine joint military exercises were conducted in the South China Sea by big countries outside the region. [1 5] 2001April1Japan's plane collision incident between China and the United States is a prominent example of the infiltration of foreign powers into the South China Sea. The intervention of big countries outside the region undoubtedly complicates the South China Sea issue and makes it more difficult for China to negotiate with relevant countries to resolve disputes in the South China Sea. For China, this is obviously a disadvantage.
(5) The relationship between China and ASEAN has been continuously improved and developed.
1August, 990, China resumed diplomatic relations with Indonesia; In June 5438+10, China and Singapore formally established diplomatic relations; 199 1 September, established diplomatic relations with Brunei. So far, China has established normal diplomatic relations with all ASEAN member countries, thus laying a solid foundation for the development of relations between China and ASEAN. Since then, the relationship between China and ASEAN has embarked on the track of sound development. Proceeding from the overall situation of regional peace and stability, China also supports the expansion and development of ASEAN. Thanks to China's active efforts, China and ASEAN have formed a regional economic and security consultation mechanism. China first participated in the ASEAN Regional Forum, then became a partner of the ASEAN comprehensive dialogue, and then participated in the meetings of "10+3" and "10+ 1". 1997 12. China and ASEAN announced the establishment of a good-neighborly partnership of mutual trust oriented to the 2 1 century. 200 1 1 1 Both sides announced the establishment of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area. The sound development of China-ASEAN relations has become a favorable factor for the peaceful settlement of disputes in the South China Sea. In fact, due to the development of relations between China and ASEAN, China's South China Sea policy has been closely linked with China's ASEAN policy since 1990s.
Facing the new features of the South China Sea situation, China's South China Sea policy has also been adjusted. Just entering the 1990s, this adjustment was revealed. 1990 12 During his visit to Southeast Asian countries, Premier China formally put forward the initiative of shelving disputes and conducting friendly consultations. [16] Since then, "shelving disputes * * * and jointly developing" has become the policy declaration of the China government on the South China Sea dispute. [ 17]